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Determining Dehydration in Goats and Other Livestock

Introduction to Dehydration:

Dehydration can be a serious problem for both young animals and adults. Many times it is a life threatening problem that must be corrected quickly. Realize that dehydration decreases the animal's ability to distribute medications and nutrients throughout the body.

Clinical Signs of Dehydration in Goats:

Sunken eyes, skin remains tented, dry nose, weakness, pale, dry gums, and a capillary refill time longer than 2 seconds are some of the more common signs of dehydration. Not every animal will experience all of these symptoms.

Additional Diagnostics for Dehydration:

One of the best ways of evaluating the extent of dehydration in an animal and determining if hydration efforts have been successful is by drawing blood and running a complete blood count (CBC)

Assessing Hydration Status:

Use the following guidelines to determine the hydration status of an animal:

% Dehydrated

Eyeball Position

*Skin Remains Tented (seconds)

Mucous Membranes

Normal

Normal

<1

Moist

1-5

Normal

1-4

Moist

6-8

Slightly sunken

5-10

Tacky

9-10

Gap between eyeball and surrounding tissue

11-15

Tacky to dry

11-12

Large gap and very sunken

16-45

Dry

Treatment for Dehydration:

Once the level of dehydration in the sheep/goat has been determined, a calculation can be done to identify how much fluid is required.

Take the % dehydrated and multiply by the animal?s body weight in kg.

Weight in kg X percent dehydrated = volume in liters required.

For example, a 20 lb. (9 kg) lamb is determined to be 9% dehydrated. This means that 0.81 (9 kg X .09 = 0.81) liter of fluid is required to replace what has been lost. In this example, the lamb weighs 9 kg (20 lbs. divided by 2.2 = 9 kg).

After the initial calculated fluid dose is administered, additional fluids can be given at a rate of 5 mLs for every 2.2 lbs., every hour. In addition to the 5 mLs/2.2 lbs/hour, additional fluid may be required to keep up with continued losses because of diarrhea, etc.

Hints: 1 gallon = 3.7 liters and 1 kg = 2.2 lbs.

This fluid can be given orally (PO), subcutaneously (SQ), or intravenously (IV). Only sterile fluid (0.9% saline solution or sodium chloride) should be administered SQ or IV. It is essential that any dehydrated animal, particularly newborns with diarrhea, have oral, SQ, or IV fluid supplementation.

Oral Fluid Administration:

(MY Personal Choice for electrolyte replacement is a product called Vi-Tal by Neogen )

Oral fluids should only be used in animals that are 1-5% dehydrated. If the animal is more dehydrated than this, oral fluids alone do not meet the animal's needs. The most common problems with oral fluid administration are that the method and frequency of administration is not ideal and the quantity administered is often insufficient. To overcome these problems, the following suggestions are a must:

Calculate the animal's fluid requirements using the previous example. Give no more than 250 mLs at one time to small newborns or 3-5 liters to adults.

If electrolytes are going to be fed, reconstitute them exactly according to the manufacturer?s instructions.

The best way for a newborn to obtain oral fluids is by suckling a nipple bottle. This allows the fluid to enter the abomasum through the esophageal groove. If the newborn is too weak to suckle, fluids can be administered with an esophageal or tube feeder. This method, however, causes the fluid to enter the rumen directly and not the abomasum.

Do not be reluctant to administer milk or milk replacers in addition to electrolytes to newborns. Electrolytes do not contain adequate nutrition for the lamb/kid; therefore, milk will be/is necessary. All electrolytes and milk should be fed at least 30 minutes apart and never mix the two fluids. Milk digestion is slowed when combined with oral electrolytes.

Dehydrated adult animals may require oral administration of fluid through a stomach tube.

The frequency of fluid administration can be variable and depends on the severity of the fluid loss and management issues. In general, animals that are only slightly dehydrated may require only two oral doses, while animals that are around 5% dehydrated may require oral fluid every 2 hours.

Subcutaneous(SQ) Fluid Administration:

This method of fluid administration should be used in those animals that are 6-8% dehydrated. If SQ fluids are given, remember the following:

If the animal is greater than 8% dehydrated, IV fluids should be given.

Warm the fluids to body temperature before administration.

Use only sterile isotonic fluids (0.9% saline solution).

The loose skin areas of the neck, shoulder, and behind the elbow are good areas to administer SQ fluid. The injection area should be cleaned and sterilized before inserting the needle.

The fluid can be given as one large bolus or can be given over a period of time. Do not give over 60 mLs in one location and over 200 mLs total to one newborn at one time. Adult animals can tolerate larger volumes. It usually takes about 4-6 hours for the fluid to completely absorb.If the goat becomes overhydrated (too much fluid is given), blood
potassium levels may become too low, causing muscle and heart
abnormalities. Signs may include weakness, constipation, rapid
breathing, and increased heart rate. Overhydration may also cause fluid
to accumulate in the lungs (pulmonary edema) and increase the workload
for the heart. Signs may include increased or rapid breathing,
coughing, or wheezing. If you notice any of these signs, stop fluid
therapy and contact your veterinarian immediately.

Go Hereto View Ringers IV bag and Set up, now including various YouTube clips on administering SQ fluids to animals (no goats yet but it gives you a good idea how to set up and start fluid therapy)

Oral and SQ fluids can be given at the same time and are often a great method of restoring proper hydration.

Intravenous IV) Fluid Administration:

IV fluid administration requires that a sterile catheter be placed in the animal. This requires professional help and additional training. Once the catheter is in place, the following should be considered:

Calculate the animal?s fluid needs by utilizing the table and example at the front of this discussion.

Many animals with diarrhea are acidotic (meaning that they have a low blood pH). Because of this, bicarbonate may need to be added to the first 1-3 liters of fluid. If 0.9% sterile saline solution or sodium chloride is used, approximately 13 grams of sodium bicarbonate or 150-175 mLs of 8.4% sodium bicarbonate solution should be added to each liter of fluid to make a 1.3% solution. To make a 5% sodium bicarbonate solution for acidosis, 50 grams of sodium bicarbonate should be added to each liter of fluid.

In general, once the amount of fluid the animal requires is calculated, two-thirds of that amount can be given in the first hour. For example, if the animal requires 750 mLs of fluid, 500 mLs can be given in the first hour. After the first hour, the rest of the fluids (250 mLs) can be given evenly over a 2-3 hour period.

After the initial calculated fluid dose is administered, additional fluids can be given at a rate of 5 mLs for every 2.2 lbs. of body weight, every hour. This means that a 20 lb. (9 kg) lamb that is 9% dehydrated should initially receive a total of 0.81 liter of fluid. Approximately 0.5 liter should be given in the first hour, and the final 0.3 liter given over a 2-3 hour period. Once the 0.81 liter is given, a dose of 45 mLs of fluid should be given every hour until the animal is fully rehydrated and back to normal.

In addition to the 5 mLs/2.2 lbs/hour, additional fluid may be required to keep up with continued losses because of diarrhea, etc.

Prevention of Dehydration:

Dehydration can be prevented when careful attention is given to an animal that is sick, injured, or under severe stress (drought, cold and hot extremes, etc.). Any animal that has diarrhea/scours or another disease that causes fluid to be lost, should receive additional fluids immediately. It is always best to provide additional fluids at the onset of a problem, instead of trying to compensate for dehydration after the fact.